The Council of State Governments Justice Center selected the leading judges of Delaware, Idaho, New Hampshire and Wisconsin to participate in the Chief Justices’ Criminal Justice Mental Health Leadership Initiative.

A five-year, multimillion dollar federal funding package to support the treatment of mentally ill inmates and ex-offenders at the state and local level passed into law as President Bush signed the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act.

Authorities should expand specialized interventions and programming to reduce the higher recidivism rates that exist among inmates with major mental illness, according to a University of Texas Medical Branch study.